Vienna has hosted the Habsburg court over centuries, first as the imperial see of the Holy Roman Empire, then the capital of the Austrian Empire and later of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This has had a tremendous impact on the culture that exists there today.

    Like Munich, its residents are formal, but with small doses of courtliness, polite forms of address and formal dress attire, the residents of Vienna tend to be equally modern and old-fashioned. Waiters address their customers with honorifics; a man who bumps into someone on the street is more than likely to implore his or her pardon with a small bow; tourists are treated as if they were a long-lost member of the royal family returning home. This luxurious treatment is one of the reasons that many people enjoy visiting Vienna.

    The traditional Vienna is but one of the many façades of this city. Vienna is also a dynamic, young city, famous for its (electronic) music scene with independent labels, cult-status underground record stores, a vibrant club scene, and a government that seems overly obsessed with complicated paperwork. However, people are willing to go out of their way or bend the rules a little if they feel they can do someone a favor.

    Vienna is also famous for its coffee culture. "Let's have a coffee" is a very common phrase to hear, because despite incursions by Starbucks and Italian-style espresso bars, the Kaffeehaus is still the traditional place to drink a cup of coffee, read the newspaper, meet friends or fall in love.

    If you come to Vienna and don't try some coffee you've missed one of the great reasons to come here. Vienna has a reputation for having an excellent coffee culture and you should at least visit one of the countless traditional coffee houses where you can sit down, relax, and have some coffee.

    Sidewalk Cafés line a pedestrians-only street in central Vienna's Graben district. Cafés and coffee houses are an Austrian tradition, and it is customary to take an afternoon break for a strong cup of coffee. The coffee ritual is incomplete without a delicious pastry or a slice of chocolate cake.

    One Viennese admitted to me that being in a coffee house is like leaving the real world. "You close the doors and all the troubles you have are forgotten. You leave them behind. You read the newspaper, you play the billiards, you play chess, you talk to your friends while you drink your coffee or beer and everything has become peaceful."

    维也纳最初是神圣罗马帝国的领地，接着成为奥地利帝国的首都，后来又成为奥匈帝国的首都，哈布斯堡王朝在维也纳雄踞达数个世界之久。这段历史对于维也纳现在的文化产生了重大影响。

    和慕尼黑一样，维也纳的居民也很讲礼节，不过加上他们稍许的谦恭、礼貌的言辞和正式的着装，他们往往显得既现代又传统。侍者们用敬语招呼顾客；维也纳人在街上撞到人时往往会微微鞠躬致歉；受到款待的游客会觉得自己就像失散已久、如今归来的皇室成员一般。这种奢华的款待是很多人喜爱到维也纳观光的原因之一。

    传统的维也纳只是这个“多面城市”的一面而已。维也纳也是一座动感、年轻的城市，它以独立唱片公司构成的（电子）音乐界、拥有一大批狂热乐迷的地下唱片店、活跃的俱乐部圈子和似乎过于重视繁文缛节的政府而闻名。不过，如果人们觉得自己能够帮上别人的忙，他们也乐意稍微通融一下。

    维也纳的咖啡文化同样闻名天下。“我们去喝杯咖啡吧”是最常听到的一句话，因为尽管受到星巴克和意式浓缩咖啡吧的入侵，咖啡馆仍然是喝杯咖啡、看看报纸、会会朋友或坠入情网的传统之地。

    在维也纳品尝咖啡是你来这里旅游时不容错过的事情。维也纳绝妙的咖啡文化享誉世界，这里有着不计其数的传统咖啡馆，你怎么也得去一家，坐一坐，放松一下，喝杯咖啡。

    在维也纳市中心格拉本区的步行街，沿路都是路边咖啡吧。咖啡吧和咖啡馆是奥地利人的一项传统，他们习惯在下午休息的时候，去喝上一杯浓咖啡。美味的油酥点心或一块巧克力蛋糕在喝咖啡时也是必不可少的。

    一个维也纳人对我坦陈，身处咖啡馆中就像脱离了现实世界：“你避开尘世，忘记了所有的烦恼，它们都被抛在了脑后。你看看报纸、打打台球、下盘国际象棋、边喝咖啡或啤酒边和朋友聊天，一切都变得那么安宁祥和。”